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'Time Out' and the true value of things

 



I've been two weeks away from the work I love due to salmonella poisoning.  This itself was a result of eating an egg which I fried knowing there was something wrong with it.  In my abundance of optimism I had thought 'I'll be fine...my stomach grew up in India, it can handle anything'.    It's been a rough time and I am glad to be coming to the other side of it.  Ina has been amazing throughout, but is glad to have her husband returning to something like his old self.   As someone who generally has good health it has been an eye opener too in all sorts of ways.   

The abiding lesson I have taken away from all this ( apart from the obvious!) is how much I love what I do.   I missed a very rich two weeks of over 20 personal appointments, three services and a conference I was taking part in as well as other work related meetings and two outreach events.  As one of my pals said to me it is a good reminder that none of us are indispensable...and that is absolutely true.  However, I felt a sense of personal loss, especially from the conversations with a wide variety  of people in a range of different places.  I was really looking forward to these, some with people I had not visited before and did not know well, others with long standing friends, others with folk I am getting to know better. 

I'd also like to think that the folk I had to cancel on had been looking forward to seeing me too ( at least to some extent!).  This has got me thinking of the importance of connections and relationships and how precious a growing and deepening friendship with someone is.   That sense of anticipation of your time together, the making time in each other's diary which is a mark of respect to one another, the willingness to be honest in the conversation, to really show up for the other person, the gift of undivided attention we offer one another ( including putting the phones away!) and so on. 

I've also learned though even if these two weeks had gone to plan and had been as great as I was hoping they would be that that in itself is not the full story.  Being laid aside like this has brought home to me that bigger story we are all part of.  The hours I have spent with God and some deep reading and quiet thinking and praying have been rich in themselves and helped me notice and pay attention to things I probably would have missed in the flow of the week I had planned.  

As rich and precious as our human friendships are, our friendship with God is richer and more precious by far.  As important as activity and action are, unless they come from a place of 'abiding in the vine'  then they can be little more than 'Paul in his happy place, in his zone'.    I am deeply thankful for the role I have with the church here on the western edge of Scotland, for great colleagues and committed and faithful church members and can't wait to get back into it again.   A little chastened and hopeful more careful (!), but deeply deeply grateful.

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